The first round of the Alchemy Grand Competition concluded with Zuo Qiu Liang, Shen Chu Yao, and Kong Yang of the Purple Cloud Sect leading, tied for first place.
Xiao Fei produced seven pills, temporarily ranking second along with over a dozen other disciples.
These ties would be re-evaluated based on pill quality during the final assessment, as each rank could only accommodate one person.
Zhu Yu, participating in the competition, only managed to produce three pills in his batch, currently ranking outside the top one hundred.
However, having only joined two years ago, his current level was already quite impressive.
At this moment, the second round of alchemy had begun.
The unexpected emergence of disciples from the three sects had captured the attention of many Dan Xin Sect disciples.
This round allowed participating disciples to choose their own pill recipes, prepare their own spirit herbs, and refine their most proficient pills.
However, there were certain restrictions on the alchemical materials used; they could not exceed the scope of first-tier spirit herbs.
Using second-tier spirit herbs to refine first-tier elixirs would significantly improve the success rate and pill quality, thus negating the purpose of the competition.
To achieve better results in the grand competition, everyone would strive to find higher-quality spirit herbs, as long as they did not exceed the first-tier limit.
In this regard, Xiao Fei held a slight advantage, as the spirit herbs grown in his space were one to two tenths better in quality than those found outside.
The majority of disciples chose to refine the Qi Gathering Pill, as it was the most widely used and frequently refined elixir.
Xiao Fei had long ago specially cultivated several batches of materials for the Qi Gathering Pill for the grand competition, with the herbs being much older and the plants more robust than those typically used.
Xiao Fei skillfully added the spirit herbs into the furnace in sequence.
He had performed such actions continuously in his space for several years, almost to the point of forming a conditioned reflex, becoming exceptionally proficient.
Concurrently, the round-faced youth sitting next to Xiao Fei was adding spirit herbs into his alchemy furnace one by one.
Since he couldn't refine pills anyway, it didn't matter what he refined; he could just throw in some materials haphazardly and muddle through.
"Thousand Gold Flower, Spirit Stabilizing Stone, Withered Branch, Silk Twining Vine..."
At times, he didn't even know what he was throwing in; he couldn't remember the pill recipes or spirit herbs.
After haphazardly tossing in some spiritual items, he stoked the spirit charcoal fire until it blazed.
Now, he just had to wait for the alchemy to fail, considering it a way to get by.
However, as these miscellaneous spiritual items were placed together in his furnace, catalyzed by the furnace and the heat, an unknown change occurred, and the spiritual pressure within the furnace grew increasingly intense.
Seeing this, the round-faced youth secretly rejoiced, wondering if he had accidentally refined something extraordinary.
Many elixirs in the cultivation world were also discovered through accidental coincidences.
He immediately added more spirit charcoal to the bottom of the furnace, intensifying the fire and increasing the spiritual pressure.
"Boom!"
A deafening explosion echoed throughout the arena. The alchemy furnace in front of the round-faced youth instantly shattered into pieces, with flames soaring into the sky.
"Furnace explosion!"
The round-faced youth was blasted over ten feet away by the explosion, his body crashing into two other alchemy furnaces before coming to a halt.
The fragments and shockwave generated by the furnace's explosion affected over a dozen disciples who were intensely focused on their alchemy.
The closest cultivators were the unluckiest, struck by fragments that caused them to bleed profusely.
Many were affected this time, including Xiao Fei, Shen Chu Yao, Zuo Qiu Liang, Kong Yang of the Purple Cloud Sect, Zhang San...
At that critical juncture of alchemy, no one had anticipated such an event.
After all, this was a grand competition within their own sect, not a battlefield.
"Ah..."
Shen Chu Yao was struck on the head by a fragment, letting out a scream. Her movements faltered slightly, and a burnt smell emanated from the furnace before her; her batch of pills had failed.
Simultaneously, Zuo Qiu Liang and Kong Yang of the Purple Cloud Sect were also affected by the explosion, sustaining minor injuries.
Due to their injuries, the alchemical techniques they performed were no longer as smooth and flawless as before, with occasional minor mistakes appearing.
Similarly, Xiao Fei sustained a gash on his right arm, limiting its movement, and his forehead was also cut, causing blurred vision.
Under such circumstances, it became very difficult to continue refining pills with his usual skill and ease.
However, the chief examiner on the stage had not called for a halt, so Xiao Fei naturally could not stop.
He simply closed his eyes and unleashed his divine sense.
Xiao Fei's divine sense was often exhausted to the point of collapse several times a day in his space, having been refined to be extremely solid, tenacious, and powerful.
His divine sense enveloped and controlled his physical body, allowing his hands to continuously perform various complex incantations.
Any imperfections were then rectified through his divine sense.
On the main stage, True Master Guang Ling hesitated, contemplating whether to announce that injured disciples should have their wounds bandaged before attempting to refine another batch.
However, such unforeseen circumstances could also be a test of a disciple's character.
Alchemy disciples generally did not participate in combat, focusing solely on refining.
In terms of resilience and adaptability under pressure, they were inferior to disciples who frequently honed their skills in life-or-death situations.
Only through enduring various adversities could a tenacious and unyielding character be cultivated.
"Hmm!"
At this moment, True Master Guang Ling let out a soft exclamation.
In the competition arena, it was understandable that disciples like Zuo Qiu Liang, who were highly anticipated, were affected.
However, he discovered an interesting young cultivator.
He still had an impression of this individual.
In the previous round of competition, this disciple had shown great resilience, remaining unmoved by external pressure, and had meditated with his eyes closed for half an hour before starting his alchemy.
This temperament and composure were considered quite good among Qi Refining disciples.
This disciple had been close to the location of the furnace explosion and had sustained significant injuries, severely impacting his hand functions.
Yet, he remained composed, using his divine sense to guide the alchemy.
"Your sect's disciple is quite remarkable! A promising talent!"
"This disciple's divine sense is exceptionally tenacious, far surpassing that of Qi Refining cultivators of the same level."
"This disciple has a good disposition!"
At this point, the envoys from the other three sects also noticed Xiao Fei's exceptional performance and nodded in praise.
True Master Guang Ling, with a pleased expression, stroked his beard.
"Esteemed fellow Daoists, you flatter me! Your sect's disciples have also performed admirably, with many praiseworthy aspects."
At this moment, True Master Guang Ling looked upon this disciple, who had brought him honor, with much greater favor.
Xiao Fei, combining his usual method of refining with divine sense in his space, controlled his physical body to execute incantations, his movements flowing like water, without any hindrance.
Meanwhile, the disciples watching from the sidelines held their breath, anxiously observing Zuo Qiu Liang and Kong Yang of the Purple Cloud Sect in the arena.
Ordinary disciples lacked the discerning eye to understand much from their alchemical movements, let alone to perceive the occasional minor mistakes made by Zuo Qiu Liang and others.
Only when looking at the injured round-faced youth did they cast some ill-intentioned glances.
It was estimated that the round-faced youth's days in the sect would not be easy for some time.
Amidst everyone's attention, Zuo Qiu Liang finally executed the last pill-forming incantation and opened the lid of the alchemy furnace.
At the bottom of the furnace, there were only eight pills, along with two dark, discarded ones.
In the Alchemy Grand Competition three years prior, Zuo Qiu Liang could produce nine pills in a single batch of Qi Gathering Pills.
Three years had passed, and Zuo Qiu Liang should have become stronger; it was rumored that he could now produce at least one mid-grade pill per batch.
However, due to the impact of the earlier furnace explosion and his resulting injuries, his performance had faltered, leading to a decrease in his pill yield compared to three years ago.
As everyone watched with concern, Kong Yang of the Purple Cloud Sect also lifted the lid of his alchemy furnace.
Inside his furnace, there were also eight finished pills, but his remaining two were gray, inferior-grade pills.
By this measure, Kong Yang of the Purple Cloud Sect had narrowly surpassed Zuo Qiu Liang.
At this moment, a palpable sense of dejection and disappointment enveloped the disciples of the Dan Xin Sect.
As the foremost alchemy sect in the Lu Kingdom, they had lost to the Purple Cloud Sect.
Since becoming disciples of the sect, their fortunes were intertwined with its own; this defeat was a significant blow to the hearts of the Dan Xin Sect disciples.
However, True Master Guang Ling on the main stage continued to stroke his beard, his expression unchanged.
Firstly, individuals who had lived for hundreds of years had witnessed the ebb and flow of the world and understood that one or two failures were not necessarily bad; rather, they could ignite a disciple's fighting spirit.
Secondly, the outcome was not yet decided!
While ordinary disciples lacked the foresight, he could see that the victory was not yet determined.
True Master Guang Ling on the main stage, along with the envoys from the three sects, had all focused their gaze on Xiao Fei.